Sunday, April 29, 2018

MAYOR STICKS FOOT IN HIS MOUTH ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIMS AT DOE WHILE PRINCIPAL SUSPENDS AIDE FOR YAWNING

I don't know whether to be more outraged by the Mayor's comments about the "hyper-complaint dynamic" for "the wrong reasons" at the Department of Education or the principal who suspended a teacher's aide for inappropriate yawning.

Here is the mayor's full comment on why so few sexual harassment complaints are substantiated at the Department of Education as reported by Politico:

“Any sincere reporting, whether it’s about sexual harassment or, you know, cheating on tests or anything, we take very, very seriously,” de Blasio said during an unrelated press conference on Wednesday. “But it is a known fact that unfortunately there’s been a bit of a hyper-complaint dynamic sometimes for the wrong reasons. So I think that has inflated their numbers. We need to address that cultural reality within the DOE."

Who is this guy kidding? He even doubled down on his dumb comment in explaining himself.

 “Some are absolutely sincere — many, I’m sure, are absolutely sincere. We take them very seriously, we have to investigate everything. We treat everything with equality when it comes to investigating,” de Blasio said. “But I’m also trying to be honest about something that’s different at DOE than at a lot of other places, and it’s a pretty well-known thing in the education world. Some people inappropriately make complaints for other reasons, not just — I’m not even sure it’s ever about sexual harassment. But it is unfortunately part of the culture.”

This blog has said for years that DOE employees are not taken seriously when they use the Department of Education's internal review procedures, including oftentimes the UFT grievance procedure, for any complaints.

On sexual harassment, the actual numbers show that only seven out of 471 sexual harassment complaints were substantiated over the last four years. That's less than 1.5%. 98.5% of us are inappropriately making complaints "for other reasons" according to the mayor.

There are 135,000 DOE full time workers according to Politico. Seven substantiated sexual harassment complaints in four years with over 135,000 employees? In case you are wondering, the average substantiation rate across all city agencies for sexual harassment is 17% according the Politico. Something is very wrong at the DOE. For Mayor de Blasio to claim that they take our complaints "very seriously" is totally not borne out by the numbers.

Meanwhile Sue Edelman from the NY Post continues her excellent reporting exposing the DOE's nonsense. Her latest piece concerns a principal who suspended a teacher's aide because she yawned.

Marie Desforges, the head of PS 328 in Brooklyn, suspended a teacher’s aide for five days without pay last week for “professional misconduct” — yawning.
In a disciplinary letter, Desforges told Edsheda Brown, “You yawned loud enough for me to hear you while I was walking down the hallway” outside a staff meeting.
What’s more, Desforges accused the aide of insubordination over the yawn.
When the principal told the aide the yawn was “inappropriate,” “you stated to me, ‘What, that is how I yawn,’” the letter says.
Teachers said Brown, aghast, asked the principal, “Are you trying to reprimand me for yawning? It’s a bodily function.”
Faculty at the East New York elementary school have felt under siege by Desforges since she took charge last September in her first days as a city principal.
Yet another principal from hell in New York City schools.

The scariest part for me is that nobody who works in the schools will be in the least bit surprised by either one of these two articles. These should be shocking stories.

More likely, people will yawn and say, so what else is new? For which they could be reprimanded by another principal from hell.

DOE management, with many notable exceptions, stinks from the top on down.  Everyone who works in a NYC public school is aware of how there is almost no recourse when there is a violation of the rules unless you know someone. It is corrupt to the core and our unions offer little, if any, help.

Friday, April 27, 2018

DON'T UNCORK ANY CHAMPAGNE CORKS ON ASSEMBLY TEACHER EVALUATION BILL

I have read and posted the new teacher evaluation bill introduced in the State Assembly and I am not at all impressed upon first glance. I am not a lawyer and maybe I missed something but right now I don't think this helps us out in NYC much and I hope Democratic candidate for Governor Cynthia Nixon and Professor Diane Ravitch aren't enthusiastic either.

Nixon came out for a repeal of the teacher evaluation law. That is a major step forward. Teacher evaluation is at least on the table for this legislative session in Albany. However, this is no time to be celebrating. It's a time to push for much, much more.

We learn from Chalkbeat through Michael Mulgrew that the State Assembly has been working on changing the teacher evaluation law for months. Here is Mulgrew's quote on Nixon's support for repealing the evaluation law:

“We are happy to hear of any and all support for a measure to limit the problems of standardized tests.  But let the record be clear: we have been working with legislators and the executive branch for months to reform New York State’s obsession with and misuse of standardized tests,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “Ms. Nixon’s 11th hour public statement on the bill – while it may score political points – won’t help it get enacted.” 

Isn't it funny how the actual bill was introduced on the same day as Nixon came out for repeal of the evaluation law?

I do not think this bill goes nearly far enough toward restoring teacher dignity in NYS, especially in NYC because we are still rated based on assessments that were never designed to rate teachers or principals and nothing changes on observations.

This is from the Albany Times Union on the bill:
COLONIE  — As members of the New York state’s major teachers’ union are gathering for their annual convention, Assembly Democrats have proposed a bill that would end mandatory test-based teacher evaluations.
The measure, sponsored by Democratic Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan, who chairs the education committee, says that state-created tests “shall not be required to be utilized in any manner to determine a teacher or principal evaluation.”

“It has become increasingly clear that standardized tests do not fully account for the diversity of our student populations,” Assembly Democratic Majority Speaker Carl Heastie said Thursday in a statement about the bill.
If I understand the bill correctly, we get the state exams taken out of our evaluations although we may still use them if we want to. No big win.

Meanwhile, multiple Danielson observations and some other state, city or locally created exams or student growth portfolios (subject to grading by God knows who in NYC) remain in our evaluations.

If the grading is controlled locally, this could be a step backwards for NYC. I saw how an assistant principal manipulated grading to sink someone's rating. The potential for abuse in NYC is huge.

This is a bill that looks like it is more for public relations than fixing the system. It may be an attempt to end the opt out from testing movement and also silence Cynthia Nixon's campaign on the teacher evaluation issue. Hopefully, people will see through what appears at first look to be just a slightly changed version of an awful evaluation system.

For example, unless I missed something, anyone rated ineffective twice still carries the burden of proof in a termination hearing. No tenured teacher carried that burden under the old Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory system. The bill looks like it was created by, you guessed it, UFT President Michael Mulgrew.

Please, please, please continue to get people to sign our petition to repeal the entire teacher and principal evaluation laws and return it to the old Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory system.

ASSEMBLY BILL A10475 ON TEACHER EVALUATIONS

Here is the actual Assembly Bill A10475 on teacher evaluations. Read it for yourself.

Analysis will follow but upon first look this does not get the testing out of our evaluations, just certain tests.

STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          10475
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     April 26, 2018
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of A. NOLAN, HEASTIE, MORELLE, PELLEGRINO, JAFFEE --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Education
 
        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to state assessments  and
          teacher  evaluations;  and  to  amend  chapter 56 of the laws of 2014,
          amending the education law relating  to  providing  that  standardized
          test  scores shall not be included on a student's permanent record, in
          relation to making certain provisions permanent
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1. Section 3012-d of the education law is amended by adding a
     2  new subdivision 16 to read as follows:
     3    16. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or  regulation
     4  to  the  contrary,  the grades three through eight English language arts
     5  and mathematics state assessments and all other state-created or  admin-
     6  istered  tests  shall  not  be  required to be utilized in any manner to
     7  determine a teacher or principal evaluation required by this section.
     8    b. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and  regulations  providing
     9  alternative  assessments  that may be used in grades three through eight
    10  instead of all other state-created or administered  tests,  which  shall
    11  include  all  of  the assessments that have been approved by the commis-
    12  sioner for use in determining transition scores and ratings.
    13    c. The selection and use of an assessment in a teacher or  principal's
    14  evaluation pursuant to paragraphs a and b of this subdivision and subdi-
    15  vision  four  of  this section shall be subject to collective bargaining
    16  pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law.
    17    d. Notwithstanding any provision of subdivision twelve of this section
    18  to the contrary, nothing in this section shall be construed to  abrogate
    19  any  conflicting  provisions  of  any collective bargaining agreement in
    20  effect on the date this subdivision takes effect  and  until  the  entry
    21  into a successor collective bargaining agreement, provided that notwith-
    22  standing  any other provision of law to the contrary, upon expiration of
    23  such term and the entry into a successor collective bargaining agreement
    24  the provisions of this subdivision shall apply; and,  provided  further,
    25  however,  that any assessments used in determining transition scores and
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15596-02-8
        A. 10475                            2

     1  ratings shall be used in determining scores and ratings pursuant to this
     2  section instead of the grades three through eight English language  arts
     3  and  mathematics  state  assessments  until  the  entry into a successor
     4  collective bargaining agreement.
     5    §  2. Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph a of subdivision 4 of section
     6  3012-d of the education law, subparagraph 1 as amended by section  3  of
     7  subpart C of part B of chapter 20 of the laws of 2015 and subparagraph 2
     8  as  added by section 2 of subpart E of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws
     9  of 2015, are amended to read as follows:
    10    (1) For the first subcomponent, [(A) for a teacher whose  course  ends
    11  in  a state-created or administered test for which there is a state-pro-
    12  vided growth model, such teacher  shall  have  a  state-provided  growth
    13  score  based  on such model, which shall take into consideration certain
    14  student characteristics, as determined by  the  commissioner,  including
    15  but not limited to students with disabilities, poverty, English language
    16  learner  status  and  prior  academic  history  and which shall identify
    17  educators whose students' growth is well above  or  well  below  average
    18  compared  to  similar  students  for a teacher's or principal's students
    19  after the certain student characteristics above are taken into  account;
    20  and  (B)  for  a teacher whose course does not end in a state-created or
    21  administered test such teacher] a teacher shall have a student  learning
    22  objective  (SLO)  consistent  with  a goal-setting process determined or
    23  developed by the commissioner, that results in a student  growth  score;
    24  provided  that,  for any teacher whose course ends in a state-created or
    25  administered assessment [for which there  is  no  state-provided  growth
    26  model],  such assessment [must] may be used as the underlying assessment
    27  for such SLO;
    28    (2) For the optional  second  subcomponent,  a  district  may  locally
    29  select  a  second  measure  in  accordance  with this subparagraph. Such
    30  second measure shall apply in a consistent manner, to the extent practi-
    31  cable, across the district and be either: (A) [a  second  state-provided
    32  growth  score]  based  on  a  state-created  or administered test [under
    33  clause (A) of subparagraph one of this  paragraph],  or  (B)  [a  growth
    34  score]  based  on  a state-designed supplemental assessment[, calculated
    35  using a state-provided or approved growth model].  The  optional  second
    36  subcomponent shall provide options for multiple assessment measures that
    37  are  aligned  to  existing  classroom and school best practices and take
    38  into consideration the recommendations in the testing  reduction  report
    39  as  required  by  section  one  of subpart F of [the chapter] part EE of
    40  chapter fifty-six of the laws of two thousand fifteen which  added  this
    41  section regarding the reduction of unnecessary additional testing.
    42    § 3. Subdivision 5 of section 3012-d of the education law, as added by
    43  section  2 of subpart E of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws of 2015, is
    44  amended to read as follows:
    45    5. Rating determination. The overall  rating  determination  shall  be
    46  determined [according to a methodology] as follows:
    47    a. [The following rules shall apply: a teacher or principal who is (1)
    48  rated  using  two  subcomponents in the student performance category and
    49  receives a rating of ineffective in such category shall be  rated  inef-
    50  fective  overall;  provided,  however,  that  if the measure used in the
    51  second subcomponent is a state-provided growth score on a  state-created
    52  or administered test pursuant to clause (A) of subparagraph one of para-
    53  graph  a of subdivision four of this section, a teacher or principal who
    54  receives a rating of ineffective in such category shall not be  eligible
    55  to  receive a rating of effective or highly effective overall; (2) rated
    56  using only the state measure subcomponent  in  the  student  performance
        A. 10475                            3

     1  category and receives a rating of ineffective in such category shall not
     2  be  eligible  to receive a rating of effective or highly effective over-
     3  all; and (3) rated ineffective  in  the  teacher  observations  category
     4  shall  not be eligible to receive a rating of effective or highly effec-
     5  tive overall.
     6    b. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph a of this subdivision,  a
     7  teacher's composite score shall be determined as follows:
     8    (1)]  If  a teacher receives an H in the teacher observation category,
     9  and an H in the student performance category,  the  teacher's  composite
    10  score shall be H;
    11    [(2)] b. If a teacher receives an H in the teacher observation catego-
    12  ry,  and an E in the student performance category, the teacher's compos-
    13  ite score shall be H;
    14    [(3)] c. If a teacher receives an H in the teacher observation catego-
    15  ry, and a D in the student performance category, the teacher's composite
    16  score shall be E;
    17    [(4)] d. If a teacher receives an H in the teacher observation catego-
    18  ry, and an I in the student performance category, the teacher's  compos-
    19  ite score shall be D;
    20    [(5)] e. If a teacher receives an E in the teacher observation catego-
    21  ry,  and an H in the student performance category, the teacher's compos-
    22  ite score shall be H;
    23    [(6)] f. If a teacher receives an E in the teacher observation catego-
    24  ry, and an E in the student performance category, the teacher's  compos-
    25  ite score shall be E;
    26    [(7)] g. If a teacher receives an E in the teacher observation catego-
    27  ry, and a D in the student performance category, the teacher's composite
    28  score shall be E;
    29    [(8)] h. If a teacher receives an E in the teacher observation catego-
    30  ry,  and an I in the student performance category, the teacher's compos-
    31  ite score shall be D;
    32    [(9)] i. If a teacher receives a D in the teacher observation  catego-
    33  ry,  and an H in the student performance category, the teacher's compos-
    34  ite score shall be E;
    35    [(10)] j. If a teacher receives a D in the teacher observation catego-
    36  ry, and an E in the student performance category, the teacher's  compos-
    37  ite score shall be E;
    38    [(11)] k. If a teacher receives a D in the teacher observation catego-
    39  ry, and a D in the student performance category, the teacher's composite
    40  score shall be D;
    41    [(12)] l. If a teacher receives a D in the teacher observation catego-
    42  ry,  and an I in the student performance category, the teacher's compos-
    43  ite score shall be I;
    44    [(13)] m. If a teacher receives an I in the teacher observation  cate-
    45  gory,  and  an  H  in  the  student  performance category, the teacher's
    46  composite score shall be D;
    47    [(14)] n. If a teacher receives an I in the teacher observation  cate-
    48  gory,  and  an  E  in  the  student  performance category, the teacher's
    49  composite score shall be D;
    50    [(15)] o. If a teacher receives an I in the teacher observation  cate-
    51  gory, and a D in the student performance category, the teacher's compos-
    52  ite score shall be I;
    53    [(16)]  p. If a teacher receives an I in the teacher observation cate-
    54  gory, and an I  in  the  student  performance  category,  the  teacher's
    55  composite score shall be I.
        A. 10475                            4
 
     1    § 4. Subdivision 7 of section 3012-d of the education law, as added by
     2  section  2 of subpart E of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws of 2015, is
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    7. The commissioner shall ensure that the process by which weights and
     5  scoring ranges are assigned to subcomponents and categories is transpar-
     6  ent  and  available  to  those  being rated before the beginning of each
     7  school year. Such process must ensure that it is possible for a  teacher
     8  or  principal  to  obtain any number of points in the applicable scoring
     9  ranges,  including  zero,  in  each  subcomponent.  The  superintendent,
    10  district  superintendent  or  chancellor  and  the representative of the
    11  collective bargaining unit (where  one  exists)  shall  certify  in  the
    12  district's  plan that the evaluation process shall use the standards for
    13  the scoring ranges provided by the commissioner.    [Provided,  however,
    14  that in any event, the following rules shall apply: a teacher or princi-
    15  pal who is:
    16    a.  rated  using two subcomponents in the student performance category
    17  and receives a rating of ineffective in such  category  shall  be  rated
    18  ineffective  overall,  except  that  if  the  measure used in the second
    19  subcomponent is a second state-provided growth score on a state-adminis-
    20  tered or sponsored test pursuant to clause (A) of  subparagraph  one  of
    21  paragraph  a of subdivision four of this section, a teacher or principal
    22  that receives a rating of ineffective in  such  category  shall  not  be
    23  eligible to receive a rating of effective or highly effective overall;
    24    b.  rated  using  only  the  state measure subcomponent in the student
    25  performance category and receives a rating of ineffective in such  cate-
    26  gory  shall  not  be eligible to receive a rating of effective or highly
    27  effective overall; and
    28    c. rated ineffective in the observations category shall not be  eligi-
    29  ble to receive a rating of effective or highly effective overall.]
    30    §  5.  Subdivision 10 of section 3012-d of the education law, as added
    31  by section 2 of subpart E of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws of  2015,
    32  is amended to read as follows:
    33    10.  The  local  collective  bargaining representative shall negotiate
    34  with the district:
    35    a. whether to use a second measure, and, in the event  that  a  second
    36  measure  is  used, which measure to use, pursuant to subparagraph two of
    37  paragraph a of subdivision four of this section [and];
    38    b. how to implement the provisions of paragraph b of subdivision  four
    39  of  this  section,  and  associated  regulations  as  established by the
    40  commissioner, in accordance with article fourteen of the  civil  service
    41  law; and
    42    c.  the selection and use of an assessment in a teacher or principal's
    43  evaluation pursuant to subdivision four of this section and paragraphs a
    44  and b of subdivision sixteen of this section.
    45    § 6. Section 2 of subpart B of part AA of chapter 56 of  the  laws  of
    46  2014  amending the education law relating to providing that standardized
    47  test scores shall not be included on a student's  permanent  record,  as
    48  amended  by section 35 of part CCC of chapter 59 of the laws of 2018, is
    49  amended to read as follows:
    50    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately [and shall expire  and  be
    51  deemed repealed on December 31, 2019].
    52    § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.




Thursday, April 26, 2018

ICEUFT MEETING FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN MANHATTAN WILL DISCUSS PROPOSAL TO SUSPEND ICE SUPPORT FOR MORE

The Independent Community of Educators (ICEUFT) will be holding a meeting tomorrow (Friday) in Manhattan at 4:00 P.M.

It is no big secret that the relationship between ICEUFT and the Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE) has been frayed at times and lately it has kind of exploded. I have written the following resolution that I will bring up tomorrow. It kind of speaks for itself.

Whereas, a group within the Steering Committee in the Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE) has suspended two Steering Committee members who are associated with the Independent Community of Educators (ICEUFT) without any due process or authority to suspend people; and

Whereas, due process is a fundamental human right and a basic principle of democracy that cannot be compromised; and
Whereas, the Independent Community of Educators (ICEUFT) on principle will not have anything to do with an organization that denies its members basic democratic rights; be it therefore
Resolved, that the Independent Community of Educators (ICEUFT) suspends all support for the Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE) until further notice; and be it further
Resolved, that the Independent Community of Educators (ICEUFT) will continue its work to advocate for the members of the United Federation of Teachers and for public education.

This is Norm Scott's agenda for the ICEUFT meeting:
Members of the Independent Community of Educators (ICE), founded in 2003, original organizers of the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) and one of the founding caucuses of MORE, will be meeting to discuss a range of issues, including a discussion of the red state teacher revolts and the status of its ongoing relationship with MORE, on Friday, April 27 at 4PM



I hope some of the commenters who I don't really know can take the time to make it to the ICE meeting.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

INDEPENDENT BUDGET OFFICE BREAKS DOWN WHERE CITY RETIREES (INCLUDING TEACHERS) LIVE

Harris Lirtzman sent me this information from the Independent Budget Office that shows where NYC government employees retire to. It is fascinating reading. Looking at the data, it shows that New York City retired government employees, including teachers. live all over the country and some even outside the country.

Here is a part of the IBO Report:

  • All 50 states and the District of Columbia have New York City pensioners residing within their borders, from 5 in North Dakota to the 35,410 Floridians who were paid $1.3 billion in pension benefits in 2017. The 1,601 beneficiaries living in Puerto Rico received $42 million in benefits, while an additional $24.4 million was paid to 866 retirees living outside the United States and its territories.
  • After New York and Florida, the eight other states with the most New York City government retirees are New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, California, and Connecticut.
Let's look at Teachers Retirement System payouts specifically from Palm Beach County, Florida where the data shows that over $175 million in pension payouts were made. That is a lot of pensioners who all can vote in UFT elections for who will represent working teachers.

If we are honest, there is no possible way anyone campaigning for UFT office who isn't Michael Mulgrew could get themselves known to all of these retirees living all around the country. Ergo, it is impossible for an insurgent group to win a UFT election when all we have to become known is an ad in the NY Teacher once every three years. Retirees are a huge chuck of the UFT electorate who should vote for their own VP and their own issues but should have no say in who negotiates for active teachers. It's hard enough to become known in the schools.

After looking at this report, it's even more amazing that dissidents have won the high schools so many times in UFT elections. All of us who have worked so hard to get some kind of voice on the Executive Board can take some credit.

Monday, April 23, 2018

ROSEANNE MCCOSH URGES US TO KEEP ON NUDGING AND NAGGING PEOPLE TO SIGN EVALUATION PETITION

Roseanne McCosh is the teacher who co-wrote with me the petition to repeal the NYS teacher evaluation laws (see right side of the page). Most of us in NYS are rated based on insane criteria including student scores on assessments that were never designed to rate educators and observations that in NYC are based on the Danielson Framework which has been weaponized by too many administrators to make teacher lives miserable and stressful.

The petition was inspired by the comments from the ICEUFTBLOG. Some of our readers were surprised that so few teachers signed it initially as almost everyone hates the evaluation system. I thought it might take some time for the petition to gather steam but I also believe that as more people hear about the petition, more will sign it. Remember, ICEUFT is not a huge caucus. We have this blog and we meet a few times a year. "The little caucus that could" and our friends now has over 900 signatures on our petition in just a few week's time. We are pushing a goal of 1,000 where it starts to matter.

Roseanne has some very sound advice that she put in a comment and it is worth paying attention to:

 58 UFT members in my school have signed the petition. Approximately 15 additional signatures from friends/family of our staff. My school started with a handful of signatures. We still keep reminding people to sign...in person and in emails. It's easy to get angry with teachers who don't take the time to do it but it's just as easy to give them frequent reminders to do it so it actually gets done.

At least 6 of the signatures from my school came from people who are not rated under Danielson/test scores. We asked them to sign as a show of support for those who are under it. Our delegate stood in the lobby one morning and handed out the info. Our Chapter Leader held a union meeting where we talked it up. I've sent email updates on the number of signatures.

People will step up---some just need nudging or nagging to get there. So let's all continue to nudge and nag. Roseanne McCosh

Keep up the fight dear readers. Our colleagues are very busy people who sometimes need to be reminded to act in their own interest. We can make a difference, particularly if we all help spread the word in schools that do not know about the petition or ICEUFT and keep nudging and nagging in our own schools.

Saturday, April 21, 2018

NYSUT AGAIN HIGHLIGHTS PROBLEMS WITH STATE TESTS WHILE UFT JUST WANTS BETTER IMPLEMENTATION

For the second straight week, NYSUT featured problems with state tests in the Weekly NYSUT Leader Briefing.


April 20

Tell SED, Regents about YOUR experience with ELA testing
Whether it was the paper/pencil exams or the computer-based tests, we've been flooded with troubling reports on the state's ELA tests. Now's the time to share your experiences with the SED Commissioner and the Regents. NYSUT has set up an email action center to contact them now.
Meanwhile, testing company Questar's problems continued this week, with reports of a cyberattack affecting student tests in seven states — including a small number in New York. NYSUT EVP DiBrango said New York State computer-based testing must stop until SED figures out what's going on. "Student data privacy must be protected," she said.



On the other hand, the UFT was silent on the testing in the weekly Chapter Leader Update. Michael Mulgrew did say they would present a resolution on computerized testing at the NYSUT Representative Assembly.

This is from Jonathan Halabi's notes of the President's Report from the Delegate Assembly posted at NYC Educator:

The state tests have started. “Untimed testing” has meant some kids are sitting forever. We are going to the Board of Regents with this one. Outside of the City there have been huge problems with computerized testing. We are having conversations with NYSUT – the State is doing it all wrong. We will ask for a statewide committee for guidelines before we start computerized testing (and the UFT delegation will propose this at the NYSUT Representative Assembly in Buffalo next week).

Just what we need: another committee on testing. Note that the UFT nowhere says that they oppose the state tests. The UFT just wants them implemented in a better way.

So called progressive NYC is now as far as I can tell the last stronghold in NYS, and maybe nationally too, of assess (I won't say test) and punish education with the full support of the UFT.

Remember also that teachers are rated on some assessment or another that was not designed to rate teachers. I ask again for people to spread the petition at the right of this blog to get student assessments out of teacher ratings and return it to the local districts. Here is the link to the petition which is slowly but surely building momentum. We are within striking distance of 1,000 signatures. Teachers have to know about it so we need everyone to get the word out. Hopefully, the testing issue and UFT support for tests will come up at the NYSUT RA next week.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

APRIL DA REPORT WHERE MULGREW ANSWERS LONGER DAY QUESTION

Thanks to Jonathan Halabi for filling in for Arthur and giving a full report on the April Delegate Assembly.

You can read it at NYC Educator in its entirety.

Here are some parts that interested me.

President Michael Mulgrew is soon to be about to start crying poverty as contract time nears as this excerpt from the question period shows.

Sean Ahern, East River Academy (D79)
Trump and DeVos did not get the cuts they wanted. And we have a supposedly progressive mayor. Do we need a blue state revolt? We went through years with Bloomberg and Giuliani. What do we have to do?

MM: NYS is still bleeding money, but does that mean we should never negotiate because something bad might happen? No, but if something bad does happen, we will help. (I wrote down words, but they don’t make much sense. The flow was sort of – the state might be in financial trouble down the road, but that’s not a reason for us not to push for the money we need now. Later, if we need to pitch in, we will)

This blog makes a not very bold prediction we will be asked to pitch in right around the time our contract is up.

As for the longer school day that comments here feared, we had a question on that too.

Giraldo Maldonado, Chapter Leader Manhattan Comprehensive Day and Night
Caranza’s visiting schools. Our AP says he wants to extend the school day. 

MM: Extended Day usually refers to after-school activities. There will be no extra work without extra pay. I believe that’s what the new chancellor is talking about. (then a long tangent on snow days)

On the new state law protecting unions, we have this:

Thomas, International HS at Union Square
What are the specifics of the new state law? Even my membership team members may not want to pay dues.
MM: We are currently reviewing the services, to see what will the effect will be. We are not ready yet. (Pension consult – no. Representation inside of the contract – yes. Representation beyond the contract – no.) Every local around the state is reviewing it. By the way, Cuomo signed the law here (motioning to the stage). 

Much of the rest of the meeting was about our fine new UFT App.

Should I be sorry or glad I missed the DA?

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

WHAT IS THE NEXT LEVEL MAYOR DE BLASIO WANTS CHANCELLOR CARRANZA TO TAKE SCHOOLS TO?

Politico has an article on new Chancellor Richard Carranza. Mayor Bill de Blasio wants the new Chancellor to take "New York's schools to the next level." Nobody knows what that means.

Michael Fiorillo provides one possible answer:

Well, for high schools I assume it means that, since we’re already passing any kid who can fog a mirror, we’ll have to start passing the one’s who’ve died.

That sounds like the plan.

Does anyone have another interpretation?

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

2018-19 SCHOOL CALENDAR

I copied and pasted below the 2018-19 school year calendar for the NYC schools. Note that teachers return to work September 4, 2018 and kids go back the next day. What happened to the two days to set up that were in the UFT contract? They were given away back in 2009 when the UFT agreed to lower the fixed rate on the TDA for UFT members from 8.25% to 7% in exchange for not having to report to work the last two weekdays before Labor Day.. We agreed at that time that the day after Labor Day could be an instructional day. The city has been generous by giving us that day as a professional development day. 

The contract now says, "All teachers shall report to their schools to begin work on the Tuesday following Labor Day, and will have a professional day on Brooklyn-Queens Day. The Tuesday following Labor Day may be an instructional day." Article 6C.  

I almost forgot that the the agreement in 2009 also raised the contribution rate for UFT members for their pension up to 4.85% for their entire careers and upped the years teachers must work from 10 to 15 to qualify for retiree health benefits. We got nothing in return for contributing more to our pensions. The rationale was the Great Recession which has now long since passed. This was only a prelude for the vastly inferior Tier VI pension system which our "friend" Governor Cuomo signed in 2012. We still haven't received anything back for that either.

2018-19 SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR April 10, 2018 

The School Year Calendar mandates that school sessions begin for all students on Wednesday, September 5, 2018 and ends on Wednesday, June 26, 2019. The calendar must be adhered to without exception, unless notifications of subsequent changes are received pursuant to collective bargaining agreements or for other reasons, provided these other reasons are not inconsistent with collective bargaining or legal obligations.

2018 August 27 Monday The following staff report: Assistant Principals and schoolbased intermediate supervisors not designated to work an increased work year.

September 3 Monday Labor Day (schools closed)

September 4 Tuesday Teachers report (see section 5 below). Students will not be in attendance.

September 5 Wednesday School Session Begins For All Students. Early dismissal for non-District 75 kindergarten students only. Partial school time for pre-kindergarten public school students.

September 6 Thursday First full day for non-District 75 kindergarten students. Partial school time for pre-kindergarten public school students.

September 10 11 Monday & Tuesday Rosh Hashanah (schools closed)

September 13 Thursday Elementary School: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences (see section 8)

September 19 Wednesday Yom Kippur (schools closed)

September 20 Thursday Middle School: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences (see section 8)

September 26 Wednesday High School: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences (see section 8)

October 8 Monday Columbus Day Observed (schools closed)

November 6 Tuesday Election Day. Chancellor’s Conference Day for staff development. Students will not be in attendance.

November 12 Monday Veterans Day Observed (schools closed)

November 14 15 Wednesday & Thursday Elementary School: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences 11/14/18. Afternoon Parent-Teacher Conferences 11/15/18; early dismissal for elementary school students.

November 19 20 Monday & Tuesday District 75 Schools: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences 11/19/18. Afternoon Parent-Teacher Conferences 11/20/18; early dismissal for D75 students.

November 22 23 Thursday & Friday Thanksgiving Recess (schools closed)

November 27 28 Tuesday & Wednesday Middle School: Afternoon Parent-Teacher Conferences 11/27/18; early dismissal for middle school students. Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences 11/28/18. November 29 30

Thursday & Friday High Schools: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences 11/29/18. Afternoon Parent-Teacher Conferences 11/30/18 - early dismissal for high school students.

December January 24 – 1 Monday – Tuesday Winter Recess (schools closed)

2019 

January 2 Wednesday School resumes

January 21 Monday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (schools closed)

January 28 Monday Chancellor’s Conference Day for staff development in high schools. Non-D75 high school students will not be in attendance. All other students will be in attendance. (See section 10 below for details on high school student attendance on January 28.)

January 29 Tuesday Spring term begins for high school students.

February 5 Tuesday Lunar New Year (schools closed)

February 18 – 22 Monday – Friday Midwinter Recess (includes Washington’s Birthday and Lincoln’s Birthday, observed) (schools closed)

March 4 5 Monday & Tuesday District 75 Schools: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences 3/4/19. Afternoon Parent-Teacher Conferences 3/5/19; early dismissal for D75 students.

March 7 8 Thursday & Friday High School: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences 3/7/19. Afternoon Parent-Teacher Conferences 3/8/19; early dismissal for high school students.

March 13 14 Wednesday & Thursday Elementary School: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences 3/13/19. Afternoon Parent-Teacher Conferences 3/14/19; early dismissal for elementary school students.

March 26 27 Tuesday & Wednesday Middle School: Afternoon Parent-Teacher Conferences 3/26/19; early dismissal for middle school students. Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences 3/27/19.

April 19 – 26 Friday – Friday Spring Recess (including Good Friday and Passover) (schools closed)

May 9 Thursday High School: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences (see section 8)

May 15 Wednesday Elementary School: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences (see section 8)

May 16 Thursday Middle School: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences (see section 8)

May 27 Monday Memorial Day (schools closed)

June 4 Tuesday Eid al-Fitr (schools closed)

June 6 Thursday Anniversary Day. Chancellor’s Conference Day for staff development. Students will not be in attendance.

June 11 Tuesday June Clerical Day for students in elementary school, middle school and D75 school programs. These students will not be in attendance (see section 13 below).

June 26 Wednesday LAST DAY FOR ALL STUDENTS. An early dismissal of these students is to be scheduled on Wednesday June 26 under the guidelines outlined in Section 14 below. Last day for all Classroom Teachers, Bilingual Teachers in School and Community Relations, Attendance Teachers, Nurses, Therapists, Laboratory Specialists and Technicians and last day for Paraprofessionals.

June 27 28 Thursday & Friday All other staff report except Classroom Teachers, Bilingual Teachers in School and Community Relations, Attendance Teachers, Nurses, Therapists, Laboratory Specialists and Technicians, and Paraprofessionals. 

Monday, April 16, 2018

NYSUT CRITICIZES FAULTY STATE TESTS AS UFT IS SILENT ON STATE TESTING AND NOT EXACTLY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT OKLAHOMA TEACHER STRIKE

I read through last Friday's UFT Weekly Update for Chapter Leaders and the NYSUT Leader Update that came out the same day.

The UFT Update reads like the Oklahoma teacher strikers didn't fare that well. The headline about the end of the Oklahoma strike was: "Oklahoma teacher walkout ends in mixed results."

On the other hand, here is what the Wall Street Journal said about the end of the strike:
Most Oklahoma teachers will return to school on Friday, putting an end to a nine-day strike that resulted in pay raises and boosted state funding for education.
The demonstrations, which sent teachers by the tens of thousands to the state Capitol each day schools were closed, represented the strongest labor action the conservative state has seen in several decades.
The threat of a strike initially prompted legislators to give the teachers a $6,000 average raise this year and add nearly $500 million in education funding. During the subsequent walkout, the legislature passed several other revenue increases to benefit education, including a new tax on online sales and an expansion of the types of games permitted at casinos.
Those are some pretty decent mixed results UFT.

On the state tests given last week, the UFT says absolutely nothing, not a word, in the weekly update.

As for NYSUT, they featured the problems with the state exams as the lead story in last Friday's NYSUT Leader Update.

State's foray into computer-based grade 3-8 tests is disastrous
While SED initially tried to call it a "glitch," NYSUT called this week's rush to computer-based testing nothing short of disaster. NYSUT's strong criticism -- and accounts of a wide range of technological problems -- were widely reported in news and social media posts around the state. In many of the nearly 300 schools test-driving the new system, students were unable to log in, lost work or had to repeat entire tests. Late Friday afternoon, SED finally acknowledged what it called "an unacceptable failure."


The problems went far beyond technical breakdowns. Educators raised numerous concerns with the traditional pencil and paper tests, too. Our Twitter feed is filled with heartbreaking anecdotes from members who described student frustration, exhaustion and tears. This week's developments only added fuel to condemnation of the state's testing system. On Monday, the day before testing began, NYSUT launched an online Thunderclap calling for the state to fix the unfair benchmarks that set proficiency rates for the standardized tests. Here are NYSUT's fact sheets outlining opt out rights for parents.

The UFT has been a joke of a union for a long time now. At least NYSUT is doing the right thing on testing and on teacher evaluation for that matter where they are calling for teacher evaluation to be returned to local districts free of state mandates.

Don't forget our petition. We need to spread that word as we are now close to 800 signatures to get rid of the Danielson-Junk Science teacher evaluations. The original goal in my head was to get to 1,000 which is certainly within striking distance. We are just a little caucus and need everyone to help us out so that more teachers and concerned citizens know about the petition.

Saturday, April 14, 2018

DETAILS ON THE NEW STATE LAW PROTECTING UNIONS

We have copied below the entire new New York State law protecting unions. Thanks to Bennett Fischer for sending us the law.

There are a couple of parts that stand out for me:
No  provision  of  this  article 
15  shall be construed to require an employee organization to provide repre- 
16  sentation  to  a non-member (i) during questioning by the employer, (ii) 
17  in statutory or administrative proceedings or to  enforce  statutory  or 
18  regulatory  rights, or (iii) in any stage of a grievance, arbitration or 
19  other contractual process concerning the evaluation or discipline  of  a 
20  public employee where the non-member is permitted to proceed without the 
21  employee organization and be represented by his or her own advocate. Nor 
22  shall  any  provision  of this article prohibit an employee organization 
23  from providing legal,  economic  or  job-related  services  or  benefits 
24  beyond  those  provided  in the agreement with a public employer only to 
25  its members. 

The non-member as I understand this is now able to be represented by his or her own advocate. Does that mean we are no longer beholden to the UFT Grievance Department and/or borough offices but only if we leave the UFT? For many who have dealt with some of the advocates in the UFT, that just might be a huge incentive to quit the union. Someone with a legal mind please read this for us non-lawyers.

To this non legal eye, it kind of looks like the state is inadvertently giving workers the green light to form competing employee advocacy organizations to defend themselves. It appears the intent of the law is to scare employees into staying in the union by saying that if you aren't in the union, you don't get union representation when you are in trouble. However, do the state lawmakers and governor have any idea how there are occasions when UFT advocacy leaves a little or sometimes a whole lot to be desired? Again, I am not a lawyer and require legal assistance to figure this out.

 (b) If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of a  signed  authori- 
11  zation  shall  be  adjudged  by  a court of competent jurisdiction to be 
12  unconstitutional or otherwise  invalid,  such  determination  shall  not 
13  affect,  impair or invalidate the remainder of such signed authorization 
14  but shall be confined in its operation to the  clause,  sentence,  para- 
15  graph,  or  part  of  the  signed authorization directly involved in the 
16  controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered. 

I think the state is saying we all don't have to opt back in if the Supreme Court rules, as we all expect them to, that agency fees are unconstitutional.

Attorneys please help us here too.

Here is the UFT interpretation of the new law from the Weekly Chapter Leader Update:

New law gives boost to unions facing Janus threat


Before a packed house of labor leaders and union members at UFT headquarters, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation on April 12 that helps New York’s public-employee unions recruit and retain members and reduces the number of services these unions, including the UFT, are obligated to provide to workers who do not pay to support those services. The new protection comes as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs the Janus v. AFSCME case — a right-wing lawsuit aiming to bar unions from collecting fair-share fees from workers who benefit from a union’s collective bargaining but choose not to belong to the union. The court is expected to issue a ruling in the case in May or June. “This is what we need to do in every state,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew told the 500-plus elected officials, labor leaders and union members. The law, which was hammered out as part of this year’s state budget talks, also makes it easier for unions in New York to sign up public-sector workers by requiring a public employer to notify the union within 30 days after a worker is hired and to hand over their name, home address, and work location. Under the law, the public employer must begin dues deductions within 30 days of receiving authorization. Gov. Cuomo warned that the Janus lawsuit was “the tip of the iceberg” in terms of the attack on working people and the labor movement. “They are coming at the union movement piece by piece,” he said to the assembled union leaders and members, because of labor’s political clout and “because you built and protect the middle class.” He called it the “first step of the resistance.” You can read the full story on the UFT website.

The actual text of the new law:
PART RRR 

 8    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 208 of the civil service  law,  as
 9  amended  by  chapter  503  of  the  laws of 1971, is amended and two new
10  subdivisions 4 and 5 are added to read as follows:

 11    1. A public employer shall extend to an employee  organization  certi-
12  fied or recognized pursuant to this article the following rights:
13    (a)  to  represent  the  employees in negotiations notwithstanding the
14  existence of an agreement with an employee organization that is no long-
15  er certified or recognized, and in the settlement of grievances; and
16    (b) to membership dues deduction, upon presentation of dues  deduction
17  authorization  cards  signed by individual employees.  A public employer
18  shall commence making such deductions as soon as practicable, but in  no
19  case  later  than  thirty  days  after  receiving proof of a signed dues
20  deduction authorization card; and such dues shall be transmitted to  the
21  certified  or recognized employee organization within thirty days of the
22  deduction. A public employer shall  accept  a  signed  authorization  to
23  deduct from the salary of a public employee an amount for the payment of
24  his  or  her  dues in any format permitted by article three of the state
25  technology law. The right to such membership dues deduction shall remain
26  in full force and effect until:

27    (i) an individual employee revokes membership in the  employee  organ-
28  ization  in  writing in accordance with the terms of the signed authori-
29  zation; or
30    (ii) the individual employee is  no  longer  employed  by  the  public
31  employer,  provided  that  if  such  employee is, within a period of one
32  year, employed by the same public employer in a position represented  by
33  the  same  employee organization, the right to such dues deduction shall
34  be automatically reinstated.
35    (c) Should the individual employee who has  signed  a  dues  deduction
36  authorization card either be removed from a public employer's payroll or
37  otherwise  placed  on  any  type  of  involuntary  or voluntary leave of
38  absence, whether paid or unpaid, such public employee's membership in an
39  employee organization shall be continued  upon  that  public  employee's
40  return to the payroll or restoration to active duty from such a leave of
41  absence.

42    4. (a) Within thirty days of a public employee first being employed or
43  reemployed by a public employer, or within thirty days of being promoted
44  or transferred to a new bargaining unit, the public employer shall noti-
45  fy  the  employee  organization, if any, that represents that bargaining
46  unit of the employee's  name,  address,  job  title,  employing  agency,
47  department or other operating unit, and work location; and
48    (b)  Within thirty days of providing the notice in paragraph a of this
49  subdivision, a public employer shall allow a  duly  appointed  represen-
50  tative of the employee organization that represents that bargaining unit
51  to meet with such employee for a reasonable amount of time during his or
52  her  work  time without charge to leave credits, unless otherwise speci-
53  fied within an agreement bargained collectively under  article  fourteen
54  of  the  civil  service law, provided however that arrangements for such   

S. 7509--C                         192                        A. 9509--C 
 1  meeting must be scheduled in consultation with  a  designated  represen-
2  tative of the public employer.
3    5.  (a)  If  any  clause,  sentence, paragraph, or subdivision of this
4  section shall be adjudged by a court of  competent  jurisdiction  to  be
5  unconstitutional  or  otherwise invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
6  impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its
7  operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph,  or  subdivision  of  this
8  section  directly  involved  in  the  controversy in which such judgment
9  shall have been rendered.
10    (b) If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of a  signed  authori-
11  zation  shall  be  adjudged  by  a court of competent jurisdiction to be
12  unconstitutional or otherwise  invalid,  such  determination  shall  not
13  affect,  impair or invalidate the remainder of such signed authorization
14  but shall be confined in its operation to the  clause,  sentence,  para-
15  graph,  or  part  of  the  signed authorization directly involved in the
16  controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
17    § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 93-b of the general  municipal  law,  as
18  amended  by  chapter  632  of  the  laws  of 1964, is amended to read as
19  follows:
20    1.  The fiscal or disbursing officer of every municipal corporation or
21  other civil division or political subdivision of  the  state  is  hereby
22  authorized  to  deduct  from  the wage or salary of any employee of such
23  municipal corporation or civil division or political subdivision of  the
24  state  such  amount that such employee may specify in writing filed with
25  such fiscal or disbursing officer for the payment  of  dues  in  a  duly
26  organized  association or organization of civil service employees and to
27  transmit the sum so deducted to the said  association  or  organization.
28  Any  such  written  authorization  [may be withdrawn by such employee or
29  member at any time by filing written notice of such withdrawal with  the
30  fiscal  or disbursing officer] shall remain in effect in accordance with
31  subdivision one of section two hundred eight of the civil service law.
32    § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 201 of the state finance law, as amended
33  by chapter 233 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
34    2. The comptroller is hereby authorized to deduct from the  salary  of
35  any  employee  of  the state such amount as such employee may specify in
36  writing filed in a manner determined by the comptroller for the  payment
37  of  membership  dues  in a duly organized association or organization of
38  civil service employees or faculty members of the state  university  and
39  to  transmit  the  sums so deducted to the said association or organiza-
40  tion. Any such written authorization [may be withdrawn by such  employee
41  at  any  time  upon filing written notice of such withdrawal in a manner
42  determined by the comptroller] shall remain in effect in accordance with
43  subdivision one of section two hundred eight of the civil  service  law.
44  The  foregoing notwithstanding, and subject to the provisions of article
45  fourteen of the civil service  law,  such  deductions  and  transmittals
46  shall be terminated as to one or more such associations or organizations
47  in  accordance  with  the written directions of the director of employee
48  relations, not more than thirty days after receipt by the comptroller of
49  such directions. The deductions and transmittals which were the  subject
50  of  such  directions shall not thereafter be resumed without the written
51  approval of such director.
52    § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 209-a  of  the  civil  service  law,  as
53  amended  by  chapter  467  of  the  laws  of 1990, is amended to read as
54  follows:
55    2. Improper employee organization practices. It shall be  an  improper
56  practice  for an employee organization or its agents deliberately (a) to     S. 7509--C                         193                        A. 9509--C
1  interfere with, restrain or coerce public employees in the  exercise  of
2  the  rights  granted in section two hundred two, or to cause, or attempt
3  to cause, a public employer to do so provided, however, that an employee
4  organization  does not interfere with, restrain or coerce public employ-
5  ees when it limits its services to and representation of non-members  in
6  accordance with this subdivision; (b) to refuse to negotiate collective-
7  ly  in good faith with a public employer, provided it is the duly recog-
8  nized or certified representative of the employees of such employer;  or
9  (c)  to breach its duty of fair representation to public employees under
10  this article. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contra-
11  ry, an employee organization's duty of fair representation to  a  public
12  employee it represents but who is not a member of the employee organiza-
13  tion  shall be limited to the negotiation or enforcement of the terms of
14  an agreement with the public employer.
No  provision  of  this  article
15  shall be construed to require an employee organization to provide repre- 16  sentation  to  a non-member (i) during questioning by the employer, (ii)
17  in statutory or administrative proceedings or to  enforce  statutory  or
18  regulatory  rights, or (iii) in any stage of a grievance, arbitration or
19  other contractual process concerning the evaluation or discipline  of  a
20  public employee where the non-member is permitted to proceed without the
21  employee organization and be represented by his or her own advocate. Nor
22  shall  any  provision  of this article prohibit an employee organization
23  from providing legal,  economic  or  job-related  services  or  benefits
24  beyond  those  provided  in the agreement with a public employer only to
25  its members.
26    § 5. Nothing in this act shall be construed  to  impede,  infringe  or
27  diminish  the  rights and benefits which accrue to an employee organiza-
28  tion through a bonafide collective bargaining agreement.
29    § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.

Thursday, April 12, 2018

NAEP SCORES FLAT WHILE THERE ARE VERY FEW REPORTED INCIDENTS IN QUEENS HIGH SCHOOLS

Question:What do the latest National Assessment of Education Progress scores and the Queens High School incident reports for the last two years have in common?

Answer: They show more evidence, as if any further proof is necessary, that everybody should be skeptical about anything coming out of the NYC Department of Education or the New York State Education Department concerning test scores or incident reports or probably anything else.

From Leonie Haimson, the Executive Director of Class Size Matters:

1-This week marks the beginning of state testing for grades 3-8 in New York. Check out my blog post on why many parents are still opting their children out of these tests-- and why you should consider doing so as well. The exams have no diagnostic value, and have led to an era of damaging test prep, the false branding of too many kids as "failures" and in many schools, the loss of a well-rounded education. And despite the misinformation put out by some administrators, no child will have a lower score entered in his or her record for opting out and no school will lose funding as a result. 

2-Meanwhile, the scores of the more reliable low-stakes national exams called the NAEPs were released late last night --- showing that across the country, student achievement has been flat over the past decade, except for a slight increase in 8th grade reading, while test score gaps between low and high performing students have widened.

The results are a huge rebuke to wrongheaded corporate reform agenda of high stakes testing, charter expansion and Common Core standards that has prevailed over this period and that was supposed to lead to more equity and more learning.

Over the last four years, in New York state and NYC, the story is much the same. There have been no significant increases in any subject or grade since 2013, except for a sharp decline in 4th grade math of five points in NY State and seven points in NYC. You can check the NAEP data yourself here, or a summary here.

All this goes to show that my 2016 blog post was correct that the increase in state and city test scores over this period was illusory and that we had entered a new era of state test score inflation. Let's hope this puts an end to the endless Groundhog days of state and city officials holding self-congratulatory press conferences, and articles that assume the rise in test scores is real and could be due to charter school expansion or the Common Core. But I wouldn't count on it. It's too easy for educrats to manufacture signs of improvement when there are none.


Now we go to Gene Mann's The Organizer, where we can see the Queens High School Incident Reports from the last two school years.

I think the world of Middle College and it is a safe school but not one incident in two years? It's a little hard to believe. Same goes for the numbers from just about every school listed below.

From the Organizer:


Below please find the safety reports filed by Queens high schools for the past years. If the number of incidents reported doesn’t seem to match up with your own experience, you see what the problem is.
School
School Number
2016-2017
 2017-   2018
International High School for Health Sciences
236
0
0
Veritas Academy
240
0
0
Queens HS for Language Studies
241
0
0
Institute for Health Professions
243
0
0
Queens Preparatory Academy
248
1
0
Queens School of Inquiry
252
0
0
Energy Tech
258
0
0
Pathways College Preparatory School
259
0
0
Frederick Douglass Academy VI
260
0
0
Voyages Preparatory (South)
261
0
0
Channel View School for Research
262
0
0
Flushing International High School
263
0
0
Academy of Finance and Enterprise
264
0
0
Excelsior Preparatory High School
265
0
0
High School of Applied Communication
267
1
1
George Washington Carver
272
1
4
East-West School of International Studies
281
0
2
Preparatory Academy for Writers
283
2
3
York Early College Academy
284
0
0
World Journalism Preparatory
285
0
0
Young Women's Leadership School, Astoria
286
0
0
Civic Leadership Academy
293
0
3
Pan American International High School
296
0
0
Bard High School Early College
299
0
2
Academy for Careers in Television and Film
301
0
0
Queens HS for Information, Research, and Technology
302
0
0
Goddard
308
0
0
Academy of Medical Technology
309
1
0
Queens Collegiate
310
1
4
EPIC HS (South)
314
0
0
Business Technology Early College
315
5
4
Rockaway Park
324
0
0
Cambria Heights Academy
326
0
0
Eagle Academy III
327
2
12
HS for Community Leadership
328
0
0
EPIC HS (North)
334
1
0
Queens Satellite High School for Opportunity
338
0
0
Jamaica Gateway to the Health Sciences
350
0
0
Rockaway Colegiate
351
0
0
August Martin
400
0
1
Benjamin N. Cardozo
415
0
2
John Bowne
425
0
2
Francis Lewis
430
1
0
Martin Van Buren
435
3
1
Forest Hills
440
7
4
William Cullen Bryant
445
0
1
LIC
450
0
2
Newtown HS
455
0
1
Flushing
460
0
0
Richmond Hill
475
2
1
John Adams
480
1
0
Grover Cleveland
485
1
0
MAST
492
2
0
Bayside
495
1
2
Humanities and Arts
498
0
1
Frank Sinatra
501
0
0
InfoTech
502
1
0
Hillcrest HS
505
5
9
Middle College High School at LaGuardia Community College
520
0
0
Townsend Harris
525
0
0
International High School at LaGuardia Community College
530
0
0
Queens Academy
540
0
8
HSAB
550
0
0
Newcomers HS
555
0
0
Robert F. Wagner
560
0
0
Queens HS of Teaching
566
3
0
Academy of American Studies
575
0
0
Baccaulareate School for Global Education
580
1
0
Maspeth High School
585
0
0
Queens Vocational
600
0
0
Aviation
610
0
9
Thomas Edison CTE
620
4
9
High School for Construction Trades, Engineering and Architecture
650
0
0
Robert F. Kennedy
670
0
1
Queens Gateway
680
0
1
Queens Metropolitan High School
686
0
6
Queens HS for the Sciences
687
0
0
High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety
690
3
1
Voyages Preparatory
744
3
2
Queens Transition Center
752
14
18
North Queens Community High School
792
0
0
The Young Women's Leadership School
896
1
1

Bottom line: There is plenty of underreporting going on with safety incidents and lots of grade inflation all over the place on state tests and course grades that was checked by the NAEP scores.